Duck Jango! Duck!
by Blaster master 1942
Summary: What if the most notorious bounty hunter in the galaxy had used some common sense on Geonosis? How would it have effected the Galaxy far, far away? Rated T for violence and some mild language
1. Chapter 1

(I do not own Star Wars, that honor belongs to George Lucas)

Chapter I

Smoke. Dust. Ozone. The crispy smell of burnt flesh.

Blaster fire. Explosions. The crashing of lightsabers. Shrill, alien war cries. Screams of agony.

Utter chaos.

Fortunately, most of these distractions were everyday noises to one man. Panting for breath, a man in blue and steel-colored armor looked at the monster he had brought down; a Reek, a large beast native to Ylesia. This Reek wasn't getting up anytime soon, a blaster shot to the head had ensured that. _Serves it right _the man thought, _the damn beast tried to trample me_.

Suddenly Jango Fett, the infamous bounty hunter and last of the True Mandalorians, stood and turned to face his next opponent: Jedi Master Mace Windu. The Jedi's dark skin gleamed with sweat under the harsh Geonosian sun, and his eyes were determined, locked onto Jango like a homing missile. Jango felt fear creep into his system, but he controlled it; Jedi were fierce combatants, but they weren't invincible. Galidraan had proved that.

Jango raised his one remaining WESTAR-34 and opened fire. But the Jedi used his purple energy blade to simply knock his bolts aside as if they were stray flies and powered closer and closer towards Fett. Jango tried to back up, get some more space, but the Jedi was on top of him. With a single swipe, Windu destroyed his blaster pistol and spun around for a killing blow. In an instant, time slowed to a crawl as Jango's senses kicked in. The lightsaber blade hummed through the air, coming at the hunter to slice his head off. Every muscle in his body screamed _DUCK! _

And that was what he did. He dropped to a crouch just as the energy blade came around, severing his antenna. Crouched so low, with the Jedi's belly exposed, the bounty hunter found himself in a unique opportunity; one he didn't plan to waste. He clenched fist and a set of blades erupted out of his right wristband. With a savage cry, Jango swung his arm around, slashing open Windu's stomach. A blast of that damn Force knocked Jango away as Windu clasped his empty left hand over his heavily bleeding lower torso. Jango sprung to his feet; he knew he had the advantage, and if he didn't press it he was dead. He charged the Jedi, his wrist blades pulled back for another slash. The Jedi swung his saber at the charging bounty hunter, the blade connected with Jango's left wristband, disabling his grappling hook and flame thrower. Fortunately, it didn't hit flesh: the wristband could be replaced, but his arm would be quite a more expensive story. Jango lashed out with a kick and the lightsaber went flying, deactivating as if flew. Windu brought his other fist around with lightning speed and it connected with Fett's chest. It knocked the wind out of Fett, but he reached out and grabbed the Jedi's long sleeves, keeping himself close. Without knowing how he knew, Jango knew that the Jedi was preparing to use his Force powers again. In a flash, the hunter lashed out with all his might at the Jedi Master. Blood sprayed the Mandalorian's visor. The Jedi's eyes widened.

Jango, under his helmet, gave a savage, triumphant sneer and pushed the Jedi over. Windu hit the dirt, clutching his slashed open neck. After a few seconds the Jedi Master stopped moving, lying in a pool of his own blood. Jango stood for a moment among the carnage, savoring his triumph and catching his breath. _Jedi scum _The hunter thought to himself. Jango then came back to reality and realized he couldn't stand there. Suddenly a stray blaster bolt, no doubt deflected to a random direction by another Jedi, struck the Mandalorian in the chest. The blast knocked Jango off his feet and he hit the ground hard, a smoking hole in his chest armor.

(Don't worry! Jango may be down, but he's not out! Stay tuned for Chapter II!)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

With a groan, Jango tried to sit up, but did not want to present himself as another target. The concussion from the shot had hurt like hell, but it hadn't penetrated his armor. Jango rolled over to his stomach, overlooking the situation. He needed two things: a weapon and cover. Jango reached over and grabbed a discarded E-5 blaster; the blasters were cheap, powerful and widely used among the B1 Battle droids. Weapon situation remedied. Jango crawled over to a fallen Super Battle Droid chassis and turned it over. Cover situation remedied. From there, Jango fired over the top of the downed droid at the opposing Jedi. He caught at least one in the hip and it went down. But the blaster fire abruptly stopped. Jango looked around wildly, wondering if the droids had been shut down. But then Count Dooku from a balcony spoke up.

"Master Kenobi!" The Count's voice echoed "You have fought gallantly. Worthy of recognition in the history archives of the Jedi Order. Now it is finished" Battle Droids placed the stragglers in with the rest of the Jedi in the center of the arena. "Surrender" Dooku said "And your lives will be spared."

The Jedi turned to Kenobi, the Jedi that had attacked Jango on Kamino. Apparently, with Windu gone, they had turned to him as their new leader.

Kenobi's eyes were stolid as he replied "Sorry Dooku. We won't surrender."

_Music to my ears_ Jango thought

"Then you leave me no choice" Dooku announced, with cleverly feigned sadness "I'm sorry."

With this last word, the droids and Jango readied their blasters to fire. In this circle, there was no way the Jedi would last longer than a few seconds. Jango aimed his rifle for Kenobi's forehead, but the senator from Naboo cried "LOOK!"

And out of the sky dropped a vehicle Jango knew too well: a Republic gunship. As they dropped into the arena, the side doors slid open and soldiers in white armor began to fire blaster rifles down at the droid mob.

"Good Gordy!" Jango exclaimed as he crawled up from his cover. Blue blaster bolts lanced through droids all around him as the machines fired back; the battle continued. The bounty hunter was knocked to his stomach as a pinpoint composite beam arced along the ground behind him. As the LAATs came close enough for the stranded Jedi to board, Fett managed to crawl on his stomach to an exit.

Jango realized that the army he had helped to create had finally been unleashed. He just wished they didn't have to get unleashed on the same planet as _him_. "Time to get Boba and get the Hell out of here" Jango muttered to himself. Those clones were going to fight, and they were going to fight hard. Jango had seen the strength of Dooku's droid army here on Geonosis and he had a pretty good idea how many clones there were going to attack with. That was enough to know that the Confederates didn't have a chance. And so Jango ran.

He found Boba hidden in a small, dark indent in the Arena's wall. He wasted no time, discarding his E-5 and picking Boba up. "Come on Boba! We're leaving!" Jango cried as he ran with the child in his arms. "Dad!" Boba exclaimed, pointing "Those clones!"

"I know Boba, I know"

The hanger bay was a mess. Klaxons were ringing and Geonosians were scuttling to their fighters. Jango hated the bugs, they made his skin crawl; and he'd be glad to be rid of them and their damned planet. Pressing the remote control on his right wristband, Jango opened the entrance to the _Slave I. _He put Boba down in the co-pilot seat where he usually sat and sat himself in the pilot's chair. Jango took two seconds to catch his breath, then began to enter the pass codes needed to unlock the _Slave I_. Jango took off as fast as he could, and almost paid for it when a Geonosian fighter leaving the hanger at the same time glanced against the _Slave I_'s hull. Boba looked out the window at the ensemble above and below with amazement. Dotting the sky were _Acclamator_-class assault ships and descending down from them were more LAATs, firing missiles, carrying walkers, and being blown from the sky in brilliant orange bursts. Down below the action was just warming up, with thousands of newly inserted clone troopers attacking the entrenched droid forces. Blue and red blaster bolts flew back and forth like rain, and explosions dotted both sides as they invariably drew closer. While Boba was captivated, Jango didn't give the battle a second glance; he activated the _Slave_'s cloaking systems, blinding the Republic ships to his presence. Within an hour he had cleared the atmosphere, inputed hyperspace coordinates and made the jump to light speed, leaving the Republic and CIS to wage their first titanic battle without him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III

Some days afterward, the war was made official. The newly dubbed 'Clone War' was the first galaxy-wide conflict to happen in a thousand years. Hundreds of systems, billions of lives, and the very galaxy itself hung in the balance. And what better place to see it from then a holo-vid screen in a cantina while having a drink? And that was exactly what Jango Fett was doing. After dark, Jango put Boba to bed in the _Slave I_, and went out into the city to relax.

After they had escaped Geonosis, the Fetts had made a beeline for Rodia and landed the ship in Equator City, one of the capitals of Rodia. And whether it was in the Core Worlds or the Outer Rim, in every city, there was bound to be a cantina. Jango sat back, enjoyed a drink and watched the holo-vid news on the war. While he didn't care about the clones as much as he did for Boba, he at least wanted to see how well they put up this fight. The announcer was talking about the Battle of Atraken, one of the first battles after Geonosis. The battle had been going for a few days now and only looked like it would get worse. As footage of Clone Troopers fighting with Battle Droids in muddy forests played, Jango sipped his drink idly and mentally critiqued his clones. They weren't fighting in sterilized training grounds anymore, but they still managed to do a good job, despite the new environment.

Jango also couldn't help but notice that people seemed to be avoiding him even more than usual at this cantina. For a project that had been secret for 10 years, most of the details had sure spread fast. Jango was almost afraid he'd be avoided like the plague, unable to find a job because of the thousands of lookalikes now sauntering around the galaxy. Suddenly, there was a beep on his communicator. _Maybe I was wrong_ Jango thought as he pressed the button on the communicator. A blue hologram appeared of Dooku, his brown cape flowing and his white hair and elegant goatee gleaming "Greetings, Bounty Hunter."

"What do you want Tyranus?"

"To hire you, of course. Before the Republic does"

"And what would I be doing if you hired me?"

"You would be a private contractor; commanding Confederate forces, protecting key individuals and assassinating Republic targets."

"What exactly are you up to, Tyranus?" Jango asked, putting down his drink "You hire me to be the template for a clone army that fights _for_ the Republic, while you command the Separatist droids _against_ the Republic. You're playing a dangerous game."

"Perhaps" the Sith said "But it is a game you can gain quite a profit from. The question is whether or not you're willing to play." Jango thought on it for a minute; he had more than enough money to last himself a lifetime. But with a battle of this scope, and all the potential credits at stake… Then he thought of Boba, and wondered for a moment if he shouldn't just retire; live somewhere on the Outer rim, away from the war, and raise his son. But the thought was fleeting. When he really thought about it, his son might learn more from this war then anything Jango could teach him. He'd just be careful not to let Boba get in _too_ much trouble. The Mandalorian blood in his veins called for a battle. And Jango was more than willing to answer that call. "Give me two weeks" Jango said as he lifted his drink "And you'll have your contractor"

***

3 weeks later and Jango was on the job, in full armor, lying in wait. He'd been watching the battle from the top of a nearby 4 story building a while ago when he saw them: a small force, 2 dozen Clone Troopers and a TX-130, which had managed to make their way around the main force, probably through an overlooked drain grate. The platoon was doubtlessly trying to flank and destroy the command center, crippling the Separatists. Obviously, Fett couldn't have that.

The Clones were hyper-alert; on the lookout for Battle Droid sentries hiding behind vehicles or around corners that might sound the alarm. What they did_ not_ expect was an aerial attack. A concussion rocket streamed out of nowhere and collided with the top of the tank. The explosion slowed the vehicle and sent the clones in a panic, looking wildly for where the projectile had come from. When from above them, Jango activated his jetpack. The clones looked up at the distinct sound of the jets firing. "It's Jango!" one of the troopers cried as they opened fire. The Mandalorian sailed over his clones, throwing a detonation pack the size of his fist at the tank. He landed across the street on an adjacent 2 story building, rolled to avoid some of their fire, and hit the detonator. The TX blossomed into a fireball that knocked most of the clones over and demolished their vehicular support. Jango threw aside the detonator, drew his new WESTAR-34s, and checked over the side of the building. He fired down at the clones, who returned the favor.

Besides the burnt husk of the TX, the street they were on provided little cover and the bounty hunter had the high ground… It was over. But he somewhat underestimated the clone's inventiveness. Their lieutenant yelled some order and they immediately pulled out fragmentation grenades, but they didn't throw the explosives up at Jango, but down low, in through the windows of the building. Half a dozen violent explosions nearly knocked Jango over the railing of the building, disorienting him. And before he could activate his jetpack again, the floor beneath him gave way. Fett cried out as he fell, wooden beams and Ferroconcrete falling all around him. Jango regained his senses, buried in debris, and could hear the clone lieutenant order his troops, in Jango's Concord Dawn accent: "Find him. The Jedi want any information he might have."

The Mandalorian lay absolutely still, hidden beneath the wreckage. From the sounds of their footsteps, he guessed there were about 6 troopers left. As they got closer, Jango tensed his body, getting ready to spring. With the clones less them 4 feet away, the Mandalorian sprang from hiding and fired into their ranks. The clone troopers were equipped with DC-15s; long blaster rifles that were powerful, yet unwieldy and impossible to use this close. The bounty hunter cut down half of the clones with blaster fire, but then the other 3 clones lunged.

One of them slammed his blaster rifle against Jango's head from the left. While the hunter was stunned, the other 2 tackled him, wrestling the blasters out of the bounty hunter's grip. The third jumped on as well, and the three clones struggled with their genetic template. The combatants struggled for a minute, but Fett managed to worm his leg under one of the clones and managed to kick him off. The other two clung to the Mandalorian's arms, trying to restrain him, but with a great deal of effort he managed to reach his hand over to his left armband and activate his flame projector. The blast of fire enveloped one of the Clone Troopers and the extreme heat made the other one spring back.

The armor the Kamionans had made for the troopers wasn't very resistant to extreme heat, so the armor of the unfortunate clone caught in the flames began to melt. In moments, the clone's body suit had almost totally burned off and the armor had melted around the clone's flesh like hot wax. The clone's cries of agony went unheard though, as Jango swung his flame projector to give the same fate to the other clone, but the clone quickly swung his elbow into the mercenary's face before he could activate it. The blow threw him off balance, but he managed to recover in time to block a punch directed at his head, and throw a punch of his own at the clone's now exposed stomach. The troopers stumbled backwards, slightly bent over, which let Jango connect his knee to his opponent's face, cracking his black visor. With a final, vicious kick, he swung his foot up into the clone's chin, knocking him to the ground. Suddenly, the clone Jango had kicked away came at his back, a vibroblade in hand. The bounty hunter spun around, and with a swift karate chop, knocked the blade from the attacking clone's hand. With his other hand, he shot out a fist at the clone's face, but the trooper ducked under his blow and drove his elbow into Jango's stomach. Jango reacted quickly, even with the wind knocked out of him and wrapped his hands around the clone's neck, just under the helmet, and squeezed. The clone fought to escape the bounty hunter's grip; but as he tried to pull Fett's hands off of him the hunter came down with a head butt, stunning the clone. A minute passed, and soon the clone's struggling stopped. Jango didn't stop until the faint gurgling noises had ceased, then he let the dead soldier go. The clone fell to the ground and stayed there.

Fett stopped and took a minute to breathe. It was his first time killing clones, and he had to admit they had surprised him. They really were just as good in combat as the damn Kaminoans said. It was also strange for Jango to think that beneath their visors lay men with faces just like his, down to every detail. Jango picked up his WESTARs and made to leave. Suddenly, the clone he had beaten up earlier gave a groan. Jango reflexively spun around, brought one of his WESTARs to bear on the clone and fired 3 times. As the clone's torso sizzled, Jango twirled his blasters and holstered them.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV

As Jango headed towards the_ Slave I _from a hard day's work, he found Boba outside the ship practicing his hand-to-hand combat. Jango hung back for a minute, out of sight, watching his son with pride. Though he was small and wouldn't stand too much of a chance against a fully trained warrior, he could easily take down a grown man if they didn't know he was there. Jango had taught him how to kill with stealth first, knowing his small size and lightness would make him ideal for sneaking up on people and of course slipping away unseen after doing the deed. "Boba!" Jango called to him, with a wave. "Dad!" Boba said as he turned, "You have someone waiting on the ship's com!" As Jango passed his son, he ruffled his hair, "Keep up your sparring son, I'll be back in a minute."

Inside the_ Slave_, Jango opened the com and Tyranus's hologram appeared "Abort your current mission Jango. I have a more important job for you. I have a hidden base on the planet of Bakura. I am sending you the coordinates. I expect you to be punctual."

"I always am." The hunter replied as the Sith Lord's hologram disappeared.

Boba came up and sat on the co-pilot seat. "Are we taking off Dad?"

"It seems so" the elder Fett replied as he set about the lift-off process.

"Good" Boba said as he strapped in, "It was boring here."

***

As the _Slave I_ left the atmosphere, Jango noticed a wrecked pair of capital ships; an _Acclamator_-class ship and a _Munificent_-class frigate seemed to have smashed together and become one twisted mess of metal. They were left over from the space battle, but Jango steered the _Firespray _clear of the wreck and pointed the ship in the right direction for their lightspeed jump, but he hadn't input the data yet. "Boba" Jango said, making his son look up from his various displays, "You input our hyperspace coordinates"

"Alright Dad" Boba said excitedly, turning and hesitantly pressing the buttons, double checking everything before he pushed anything. Jango had taught Boba quite a lot about the _Slave I_: how to read all the readouts, how to fire the laser cannons, even how to do some basic maneuvering. Before long, Boba would be able to pilot the ship just as well as him. There was a sudden beeping, to which Boba responded appropriately by checking the scanners for the disturbance. Jango did nothing, letting Boba's hands fly across the console. Instead he did a visual scan through the cockpit window. "Dad!" Boba exclaimed, "Some freighter coming our way. No transponder codes!"

"Boba" Jango said sternly, "Give me the controls. I have a bad feeling about this." A ship without codes meant the pilot was either stupid, or didn't want to be identified. The Slave's catalogue of known ships couldn't find anything on the model of this ship. It was vaguely shaped like a manta ray, with the engines built along the back of the "wings" and the "tail" swaying back and forth. The ship had come out of lightspeed a ways off, and was now flying straight at them. Jango turned on his hailing frequency, trying to reach the approaching freighter "This is the hunter ship _Slave I_; your ship has no transponder codes and is on a course for us. Who are you?"

The ship's response was to fire a volley of missiles at the _Slave_. 'Apparently, someone hostile' Jango thought as he curved the ship sharply to the right, trying to throw off the missile's tracking abilities. The _Slave I_ managed to evade the missiles, but not the ship, which took off after the _Slave _like a hungry kath hound. The mysterious ship fired a barrage of lasers at the back of the Fett's ship. Jango did a nimble cork screw, dodging most of the lasers, but the ones that hit did a number on his shields. With a button press, the "t" shaped ship dropped a seismic charge behind it. The manta ship made to evade the ensuing explosion, but the blast sent the ship into a spin. As Jango spun around and drew a bead on the opposing ship, it suddenly came out of its spin and spun to draw a bead on _him_. The _Slave I_ and the manta ship headed straight at each other, firing lasers frantically, trying to score the killing blow. The two scored hit after hit, and then both peeling off at the same time, meters from crashing into each other. As Jango made to turn again, his ship reeled and alarms went off. One of his engines had been disabled. He saw on the ship's sensors that the enemy ship had discharged an ion blast from its _tail_. Jango swore in Mando'a, and then made a decision. With an engine disabled, he'd be slowed and more vulnerable. He needed to take advantage of a handicap, and size was a good one. The manta ship was wider and longer than the _Slave I_. He turned and made a break for the space wreckage floating in orbit. Without a single hesitation, their pursuer followed them, undeterred. The two ships wove through the floating debris, Jango maintaining a vigilant focus, knowing that his life wasn't the only thing at stake. Boba was glued to his seat; nervous and feeling powerless, his life hinging on his father's flying skills. It didn't help that the enemy ship was on their tail, firing heavy laser cannons after them, and making bright explosions all around them. "Dad!" Boba exclaimed and pointed "There! Power core!" Sure enough, the _Acclamator-_class's power core lay exposed, the decks and plating that would normally surround it destroyed by the battle. "Boba!" Jango said in a commanding voice, "Program a concussive missile with a delay timer!" Boba had never programmed a missile, and had only ever used the main blasters when they trained how to use the ship's weapons. But Boba had watched his father use the missiles and learned quickly. The younger Fett's hands blazed across the console, setting the missile. The power core was getting closer and closer, if they passed it, it would be impossible for them to make their way back around. But at the last second, Boba pressed the 'Load' button and cried "Now!"

Jango fired the missile, which embedded itself into the core. The _Slave_ flew past. But as the manta ship passed, the core exploded; setting off a chain reaction of detonations that rocked the remains of the wreckage. The _Slave I_ blasted its way out of the debris field, but the aftershock of the explosion sent the ship spiraling out into open space. Jango engaged the emergency retro-boosters and stopped the ship. The red emergency lights came on: half a dozen systems had been fried by the explosion. The two Fetts sat in the dim red light for a silent minute as they let the adrenaline disappear from their systems. Jango opened his mouth the say he was going to check on the damage when Boba reached over and squeezed his father in a hug. Jango was stupefied for a minute, and then hugged his son back, stroking his hair with his gloved fingers. They stayed that way for a long time.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V

Sometime later, in the now even _smaller _wreckage of the two destroyed ships, something alive moved. The ship that seemed to have such a grudge against the Fett family sparked to life. It had been badly damaged by the blast, but was still serviceable. Even though it had recorded the _Slave I_'s hyperspace coordinates as it left, it elected not to follow just yet. The ship needed repairs, lest the next showdown end less favorably than this one. The ship limped away from the wreckage, set its own unknown hyperspace coordinates, and disappeared into the stars.

***

"You are late, bounty hunter" Dooku said with some distain. Jango, fully armored, entered the main room of Dooku's retreat on Bakura. Luxurious couches and pillows were strewn about the room and music played gently in the background. The Sith Lord wasn't looking at Jango, but out a large window that overlooked the beautiful Bakuran landscape. "My apologies, Tyranus" Fett said as he came closer, "I had some unexpected delays".

"Regardless" Dooku said, turning with a swish of his cape "You are here now. And your tardiness has not upset my plans."

"What's the job?"

"Separatist scientists have developed a new chemical agent that may win this war for me." He walked past Fett, his fingers making a steeple, "It is a gas that may, with enough time, be made to affect only the Republic's clones. But it requires testing. You are to co-lead a force to the moon of Ohma-D'un, and release the gas on the colony there." He turned dramatically to the hunter, "If the gas is effective, load the gas canisters into spice transports, and send it to the surface of Naboo."

"What's the pay?"

"80,000 credits."

"95" Jango countered, "No less."

Tyranus didn't flinch; he simply pursed his lips slightly, "That is no small sum."

"It's no small job" Jango replied calmly, "You're asking me to kill _everyone_ on Naboo and Ohma-D'un. High stakes, high pay."

Dooku nodded "Very well. You will leave at once with my apprentice. She will be your co-commander."

"I work alone."

"Not if you want your credits" The Sith replied calmly. Suddenly, Jango heard a sound to his right and turned his head. What he'd heard was the sound of a pale, Near-Human woman, who was lazily sitting on one of the couches, eating some exotic fruit. She was bald, but her head was covered in black tattoos that looked like someone had carved tally marks on her skull. Her build was slender and muscular; Jango knew from a glance she was a warrior. And her ability to evade his detection until now must have meant she was using the Force to conceal herself. She eyed him like a predator, her pale-blue eyes sizing him up. Dooku motioned to her, "This is my acolyte Asajj Ventress." Ventress stood up, discarding her fruit, yet her eyes never left Fett. "What use can this _bounty hunter_ be?" Ventress said, her slightly raspy voice dripping with contempt. "Don't underestimate me Ventress" Jango said coolly, "A lot of Jedi have died that way." She made a quiet snarl, like a blue-eyed dire-cat, ready to kill at a moment's notice. "Enough" Dooku said sternly, "Both of you are able combatants, and both of you fight for _me_."

"Understood" Jango said.

"Yes, Master" Ventress said, her tone still poisonous.

"I have a transport to Queyta arranged for you two" Dooku continued, striding back towards the window, "The agent is there, as well as a force of specialized battle droids that will assist you."

"I need to take my own ship" Jango interjected, "My son is on my ship, and I want him to be somewhere safe while I'm on this mission."

"If you want him to be safe" The Count said, "Why not leave him here?"

"With you?" Jango asked.

"Do you have any reason not to trust that I'll take care of your… 'Son'?" Jango's mind raced: if this chemical was as bad as it sounded, he didn't want Boba to see its effects. He was still too young for that. But he also didn't want Boba to be in the hands of a man as sneaky as Tyranus. But unfortunately the truth of the matter was that Jango's options were limited. "I'll leave my ship here" Jango said, "With my son in it. He'll see you if he needs anything, not the other way around."

"Very well" Count Dooku replied with a nod, "I will make sure nothing happens to your ship, or its valuable contents. Now go, both of you." The Mandalorian and the Dark Jedi left the room together.

***

In the _Slave I_, Boba was alone. And being so alone and young, he got curious. Even though his father told him to never, ever, _ever_ touch his equipment without him around, he couldn't resist. Donning a spare of his father's infamous helmet, the readings lit up. Mandalorians controlled their helmets with facial movements; rapid blinks, pressing small buttons with their tongues, and various other actions. Boba didn't know the exact movements, but was thoroughly entertained enough by just making faces under the helmet and seeing what happened. As he got the targeting antenna to come up and down rapidly, he felt a light knocking on the back of the helmet. Boba turned guiltily around to face his smiling, helmetless father. "Don't make any sudden moves!" Boba said in a deep voice, "I'm Jango Fett! The quickest draw in the galaxy!" Boba pulled up his fingers in the shape of blasters and made firing sounds with his mouth. "Whoa!" Jango mock cried as he dodged the pretend lasers with exaggerated movements, then scooped his son up in his arms. "Sorry Fett!" Jango growled in a deep 'bad guy' voice, "You're not fast enough!" With a yell, Boba brought his knee into his dad's stomach. The blow didn't hurt much, but knocked the wind out of Jango, forcing him to sit down on a seat with his son in his arms. After he'd caught his breath, the two laughed. After a minute Jango removed his helmet from his son's head, and gave his son a kiss on the forehead and a hug. "Boba" Jango said seriously.

"Yeah Dad?" Boba asked, looking up at him.

"Today things are going to be a little different."

"What do you mean?"

"My employer has already got a ship prepped, so I'm not taking the _Slave_. So you have to stay here and protect the ship."

Boba was aghast. He had never been left alone like this before. Back on Kamino, the Kaminoans had always been around to take care of him. Boba'd never liked them, but they were _there_.

"How long will you be gone?" Boba asked, a little afraid.

"Just a few days" The elder Fett whispered as he stroked his son's hair, "I promise. Do you think you can be brave for me, and hold the ship for that long?"

Boba nodded.

***

After a heartfelt goodbye, Jango slipped his helmet back on and stepped outside, into the sunshine, where Ventress stood, her arms folded. "Quite a connection you have with your _son_" the Rattataki observed. "We're not working together to talk about my personal life Ventress" Jango said coldly as he walked past, "We're working together to kill a moon. So let's get it over with. My credits are waiting for me."

'And my son' Jango thought.

(Bad news fans: Due to a new temporary job, I'll be unable to upload any new chapters until October 2009. While I'll be unable to upload, I'll still be able to write. So When I come back in October, you can expect more frequent updates. See you on Halloween!

-Blaster_master1942)


	6. Chapter 6

(Hey guys, back from my hiatus a little later then I thought. But here's the next chapter for you

Love from, BM1942)

Chapter VI

There was a squishing noise as Jango's boot rolled over a dead, diseased Gungan. The sight was revolting; great boils covered its face, its long tongue was swollen, its eyes popping…

Jango looked away. He didn't relish this kind of mass, gruesome carnage, but a job was a job.

Ventress, on the other hand, almost seemed to bask in the thick stench of death. Unencumbered by a breathing apparatus, she stared around at the expanse of dead Gungan warriors. The two Separatist commanders were leading a troop of modified Super Battle Droids, all equipped with aerosol sprayers and canisters of Swamp Gas. Examiner droids dotted here and there, their many spindly arms examining the corpses, recording data on the horrific effects of the gas through their bright yellow lenses.

"Sir" the deep, robotic voice of an SBD said in Jango's communicator "Republic spacecraft inbound to our sector. We await orders."

"Conceal yourselves" Fett ordered "We'll ambush them."

"Roger, roger." The droid replied as it switched off its communicator.

"Ventress" Jango said with a turn towards her. She didn't turn, or even seem to notice. She was turned away from Jango at an angle; he could see her ear and pale cheekbone, but not the rest of her face. The Mandalorian approached her, his boots sloshing through mud and stepping over bodies. "Ventress" he said louder and firmer as he approached. When he was within arm's reach, he went to touch her shoulder and say her name again. The "V" barely hit his lips before an invisible hand seemed to grab Jango's outstretched arm and bend his elbow sharply upward. He made a sharp gasp of pain, but stifled any further noises. "I am concentrating" Ventress said in a deadly whisper, not releasing her Force grip "Disturb my concentration further, and you will lose that arm."

A solid thirty seconds passed, then the Rattataki released Fett's arm. "_Jedi_" Ventress hissed in a voice full of icy venom. "How many?" Jango asked, shaking out his cramped arm.

"4 at most" she said, he voice still barely a whisper, but it rose as she drew her sabers "I will cut the Order puppets asunder!"

"First we'll lure them in" Jango reminded "We can't jeopardize this mission."

"You only care about this mission because of the credits my Master promises you!" She spat at him.

"And you only seem to care because you want revenge on some Jedi" He said back "I don't like the Jedi any more then you do, but-"

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHY I HATE JEDI!" The acolyte screeched, rounding on him and getting so close she could see her pale eyes in his visor "Don't you dare presume to know anything about me,_ bounty hunter!_"

"And don't presume to think I'm frightened of you Ventress" Fett replied "Or that I'm going to cower at your rage. Now you need to stow your attitude unless you want those Jedi to catch us with our pants down. What do you think your master will think of that?" There was a tense silence, but Asajj found she was unable to outstare the Mandalorian's bottomless black visor.

***

Minutes later, 4 Jedi and a squad of troopers landed and blundered into the swamp. Jango was amazed to see the same two Jedi he'd seen on Geonosis: Kenobi and Skywalker. Skywalker was driven into a righteous fury at the sight of the dead Gungans and attacked the lightly armed examiner droids. As the others joined in, Jango decided to throw in his hat. He activated his pack and flew into the fray, firing his dual blasters and taking out a pair of hapless clones. Kenobi didn't turn until the last second, and Jango's boot slammed into the Jedi Master's face.

"Fett!" Skywalker snarled. As Kenobi spluttered on the mix of mud and his own blood, the last of the Mandalorians aimed his blaster pistol at the back of the fallen Jedi's head. "I've been waiting for my chance to pay you back, Jedi. It's been worth sitting around babysitting those hostages." But Skywalker held out his hand and conjured the Force to blast Jango away from his master. Jango aimed as he flew back and fired a missile from his wrist launcher at Skywalker, but the Padawan dove to avoid the missile and powered towards the Mandalorian. As Anakin and Jango exchanged fire, the lone ARC Trooper in the group helped Obi-Wan to his feet. "Are you alright General?" The ARC asked. "No, I think he fractured my skull" Kenobi groaned.

"Try wearing a helmet next time" the ARC said, tapping his own with his forefinger "It could save your life." As Fett moved backwards to avoid Skywalker's saber, he dodged to the left to avoid the saber of a red skinned, Falleen Padawan named Zule. But as Jango recovered, her Master, Glaive, came out of nowhere. Glaive was a huge man, thick with muscle and powerful with the Force. The Jedi Master swung a kick at bounty hunter and sent him skidding through the mud. Jango got to one knee, cursing in Mando'a, and saw Skywalker charging him, lightsaber ready. The Mandalorian raised his wrist launcher and fired a toxic dart at the Padawan. The dart sunk unto Anakin's exposed wrist and made him stagger in agony. Anakin could feel the poison attacking his body, killing him, but he summoned the Force with great effort and slowed the poison down. But his concentration was broken as he was yanked away by the Force, barely missing a blaster bolt by Fett. Kenobi caught Skywalker as he flew towards him. "I've got you Anakin!" He said "Commander! I need some cover!"

The ARC Trooper and the rest of his squad took aim, but the Falleen Padawan tried to come around at Fett's back. But the Mandalorian detected her, and as he spun out of the way of her saber, he fired her whip cord, wrapping the girl tightly in fiber wire. Then, with the push of a button and a swift exertion of body weight, he forcefully unwrapped Zule and sent her spinning into the air, to collide with a large rock. "BACKUP!" Jango yelled into his communicator "Give me some backup NOW! Release the gas!"

Suddenly, blaster fire rained from multiple directions, tearing apart the rest of the standard clone troopers and making the Jedi fall back into a tight circle. As the droids approached, they emitted Swamp Gas from their aerosol sprayers, flooding the area with a greenish yellow fog. Jango made sure his helmet was secure and disappeared into the haze. "General!" The ARC Trooper called, firing from behind the carcass of a giant lizard "We should fall back. We've lost the element of surprise and we have no intel on this weapon!"

"I agree" Anakin said as he got to his feet. With the combined efforts of Kenobi and Skywalker, they'd stopped the poison and the Padawan's strength was returning "We need to warn the Naboo." He implored his master as he raised his lightsaber "Maybe evacuate Theed!"

"Don't let your emotions run you!" Obi-Wan snapped back "Fett mentioned hostages. Anakin, take the clone and find them!"

"Dividing our forces is a tactical error" The ARC reminded "The hostages are acceptable losses."

As Kenobi slashed a pair of SBDs apart he roared "Not to me! You _will_ rescue them! That's an _order!_"

The general didn't need to say another word.


	7. The Premature End

Hey guys, blastermaster here.

And I've been doing you all a big disservice. You've been all waiting with baited breath for the next installments of my latest chapters, and I've been too lazy to tell you that they may never come.

I can't really explain it; much like the 70's obsession with disco, it seems my writing bug has faded and I haven't wanted to admit it. I really wanted to tell these stories, but I just lack the desire to put them into my computer anymore. Some of you will understand, and move on to find other fanfics of the same ilk. Some of you will be outraged, and you have every reason to be. I'm sorry that I couldn't have been as good you to you until now as you've been good to me.

All the reviews have been great and I hope I was able to capture just a smidgen of your imaginations.

Keep on reading,

Blastermaster1942


End file.
